The Lakeside Inn, Leeanna Morgan [rosie project TXT] 📗

at the lake, then lifted her chin as she followed the towering peaks of the mountain range—“this is where I belong. Grandma has given us more than her house. She’s left us with a legacy, a chance to change our lives and grow closer together.”

Wyatt let the truth of what she was saying wash through him. He’d never felt the same sense of connection to anything. When he was living in Chicago, all he’d wanted was the soothing Tuscan landscape he’d given up for his wife. And when he was in Tuscany, he’d craved the rugged plains of Scotland or the hot, dry heat of the Australian outback.

Before he met Anya, being a landscape artist had turned him into a nomad, searching the world for the perfect setting, the perfect light—somewhere to create the perfect painting.

“I don’t want to let my family down.”

He studied the stubborn tilt to Penny’s chin and saw more than she knew. “From what I’ve seen, your family loves you. They wouldn’t disown you if you put your career above your grandparents’ home.”

“Diana wants to live here more than anyone. She’d be the most upset if I told her I was leaving. Barbara wants to stay and, out of all of us, could move here without too much bother. And then there’s Katie.”

“Your sister who’s the writer?”

Penny nodded. “She’s chasing a dream in Los Angeles and nothing anyone says can change her mind. If I’d stayed in Seattle, Katie would have been thrilled.”

“Are you sure?”

“She loves living in California.”

“More than living here?”

“Definitely. When we were teenagers she couldn’t wait to leave.”

“People change.”

“Not Katie.”

Wyatt sighed. “I used to think people never changed, too. But I was wrong.”

“What happened?”

He looked away from the curiosity in Penny’s eyes. “I never thought I’d settle in one place. Dad worked for a humanitarian aid organization and we moved around a lot. As an adult, I did the same thing. It wasn’t until I met my wife, Anya, that I had to learn how to live in one place. Her work was based in Chicago, so that’s where we stayed. She died in a car accident three years ago.”

“I’m sorry.”

Wyatt took a deep breath. “Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago. At other times, the grief is as raw as if it had happened last week. I guess what I’m trying to say is that people change, whether they want to or not.”

Penny looked across the lake. “Did you enjoy living in Chicago?”

“I loved my wife, so I learned to like Chicago.”

Penny frowned.

He knew what she was thinking, and she was right. “If I could have chosen where we lived, it wouldn’t have been in a city. But we bought a house in the suburbs, not the center of town. It wasn’t too bad once you got used to it.”

“Your nose is growing.”

His gaze shot to her face. Penny’s smile surprised him. “We always went on a long summer vacation. It helped to have something to look forward to. What will you do next?”

“I’ll call my manager. If I can’t work from Sapphire Bay, I’ll think about what I’ll do next.”

Charlie let out a deep-chested woof, then tore ahead of them.

“That sounds like a good plan. In the meantime, we can enjoy the rest of our walk.”

Penny looked along the trail. “If Charlie makes it home without jumping in the lake, I’ll be happy.”

Wyatt nodded. Sometimes you had to look for the silver linings—even if they were small.

Chapter 6

After thinking about it for far too long, Penny was finally ready to open her grandma’s chest. Earlier this morning, she’d told Diana about the mystery surrounding their grandma’s father. Since then, they’d both looked through their grandma’s closets and a few dusty boxes in the attic. But it was the old wooden chest they were both eager to open.

“Do you have the key?” Diana asked.

Penny held the tarnished silver lock in her hand. “I didn’t think it would be locked. Hopefully, Mom knows where it is.”

“Do you want me to call her?”

“That would be great.” She stood and looked around the dusty attic. “While you’re talking to Mom, I’ll hunt through the other things in here.”

“Watch out for the cockroaches and mice.”

Penny glanced at her sister. “They don’t scare me. It’s Katie who hates creepy crawlies.”

“Talking about Katie”—Diana pulled out her cell phone—“has she called anyone since she arrived in Los Angeles?”

“She spoke to Barbara before she started work. The flight was on time and the traffic from the airport was horrendous.”

“She should have stayed here.”

“If we need her, she’ll come back.” Penny opened the top drawer of a long-forgotten dresser. A layer of dust filled the air and she coughed, waving the worst of it away. “Once we figure out what we’re doing with the house, it might not matter, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“If my manager wants me to work from Seattle, I might not be able to stay.”

Diana lowered her phone. “Don’t say that. You have to live here.”

The last few months had been difficult for Diana but, seeing the worry on her sister’s face, Penny had a feeling it had been worse than anyone realized. “You could live with Mom and Dad.”

“I know. I just…” Diana’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m devastated that I missed saying goodbye to Grandma. After I left Derek, I promised myself I’d see everyone in our family more often. But I only saw Grandma a few times before she died.”

“She knew you loved her.”

Diana wiped her eyes. “I hope so. I was grateful she wanted us to live together for a year. I’ve missed everyone.”

“I’ve missed you, too, but I don’t know if I can stay in Sapphire Bay.” She rubbed her sister’s arm. “You’ve had a rough year. How are you feeling?”

“Lost. I thought Derek and I would be married for the rest of our lives. Even after I found out about his affairs, it didn’t make leaving him any easier.”

Penny didn’t know what to say to comfort her sister. Derek